Mechanical musical instrument.



Noun-10,517. PATUNTUU JUNE 9, 1903.

c. L. DAVIS. MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

AP'PLIUATION'IILEDfNOV. 12, 1902.

N0 MODEL` I 2 SHBETS-SHE'BTL PATBNIED vJUNE 9 C. L. DAVIS.

AMFCI'IANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.12, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

NO MODEL.

m: Nomus Finns co. mom-Ho., wAsHmGTnN. n. c.

UNITED STATES Patented June 9, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES L. DAVIS, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO WILCOX do VIIITE COMPANY, CFv MERIDEN,

CONNECTICUT.

CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 730,517, dated June 9, 1903.

Application filed November 12, 1902. Serial No. 130,960. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ,CHARLES L. DAVIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Meriden, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Mechanical Musical In'- struments, of which the following, together with the accompanying drawings, is a speciication suficiently full, clear, and exact to xo enable persons skilled in the art to which this invention appertains to make and use the same.

My present invention relates to improvements in the construction of the tracker and l x5 mechanisms combined therewith, the prime object being to provide means whereby a pneumatic instrument of the class named is adapted for employing music sheets or strips of various widths and comprising different zo numbers of notes-as, for instance, musicsheets of ifty-eight notes, of sixty-five notes, or of eighty-five notes, more or less-on the same tracker-range and without inconvenience in the operation.

Another object is to provide a pneumatictracker for a music-sheet having a series of note-openings formed on a normal or regular scale (as six notes perinch, more or less) and an additional or supplementary series of notes 3o at one or both ends of the range formed on a narrower scale, (asten notes to the inch, more or less,) as more fully hereinafter explained.

Another object is to provide a mechanical musical instrument with a pneu matic-tracker having a range of ducts or orifices formed on a normal scale adapted for coacting with an ordinary perforated music sheet or strip of moderate width and supplemented at either or both ends of its range by additional ducts 4o or orifices adapted for coacting with a music sheet or strip of greater width and means combined with the tracker ducts or conduits for shutting off and opening said additional ducts at a position between their mouth-oriiice and the primary pneumatics to thereby render the instrument operative with musicsheets of different widths.

Another object is to provide in the tracker for pneumatic piano-playing instruments a 5o combined scale or note space system that will give a large number of notes on a comparatively narrow tracker-space and increase the number of notes represented without increasing the width of the music-sheet or trackerrange to an excessive extent.

These objects I attain by means such as explained in the following detailed description, the particular subject-matter claimed being hereinafter definitely specified.

The nature of my invention consists in providing a tracker with a main series of orifices arranged on a certain normal uniformlyspaced scale and with an additional or supplementary series of orifices at one or both ends of the tracker' spaced or arranged on` a narrower scale than that of the main series; also, in providingin combination with the passages between said supplementary trackerducts and their primary pneumatics a means for shutting off andy opening said passages, whereby the instrument is adapted for playing with a music-sheet of greater Width and number of notes by merely closing or opening the cut-off gate or valve that regulates said supplementary series of tracker-ducts.

In the drawings, Figure l represents a front sectional view of a part of a pneumatic-tracker and such parts of a music-playin g instrument as will illustrate the nature of my invention, a transverse section of the tracker-board being shown at Fig. la. Fig. 2 is a sectional view illustrating one suitable well-known arrangement of pneumatics in connection with which my invention maybe employed. Fig. 3 represents a cross-section of a cut-off valve or means for opening and closing the air-passages from the supplementary series of tracker-ducts to the primary pneumatics. Fig. 4 represents a top view of the mouthpiece or face of a tracker as constructed in accordance with my invention; and Fig. 5 represents a portion of a perforated music sheet, strip, or band adapted for use with a tracker such as illustrated in Figli. The lines thereon indicate the scales or rows of the note-openings. In Figs. A and 5 the delineay tion is shortened to bring the figures within the limit of the drawing sheet by omitting a central portion on each iigure; but it will be understood that such omitted portion is in regular uniform continuation of the normal scale shown adjacent to the break.

My invention is especially applicable to automatic piano-players and other pneumatically operated music playing instruments wherein a perforated traveling music sheet o r strip is employed to act as a valve for the tracker ducts or openings that communicate with primary pneumatics, the action of which is controlled by the passing of the musicsheet over said tracker-ducts in well-known manner.

Referring to the drawings, A denotes the tracker-board; B, the frame or casing; C, the wind-chest or part containing the pneumaticaction, which may be of any suitable or desired construction, or, as illustrated in Fig. 2, wherein D indicates the primary pneumatics; ol, the primary air-valves actuated.

thereby; E, the exhaust chamber; F, the flushing-leader or air-inlet trunk; f, the airpassages, and G the main or operating pneumatics, which latter are in practice combined with the devices that eect the sounding of notes in the xnusic-scale and which may be of well-known structure and operation.

In accordance with myinvention the mouthpiece or face of the tracker A is provided with a main series of ducts or orifices 3,formed on regular uniform scale or spacing of, say, six to the inch and with normal size of openings, said series of ducts disposed along the tracker-range for the distance indicated at R and comprising, say, sixty-1i ve notes, while at the ends of the tracker-face there is provided a supplementary series of ducts or orifices 5, formed on a narrow scale or spacing of, say, ten to the inch and with their openings of less lateral dimension than those of the main series, said supplementary series being disposed as at S and comprising, say, ten notes at each end of the tracker-range. The orifices 5 of the supplementary series are preferably made longer in the direction of the music-sheet feed than are those of the main series, (see Fig. 4,) so that proper area of exposure is thereby attained in the operation of the music-sheet perforations upon the narrow-scale series. The combined range of the main series R and supplementary series S represents the maximum number of notes and note-playing actions of the instrument and provides a tracker of eighty-five notes embraced in the distance indicated at P.

In this specification I have referred to the main or central scale as six to the inch, that being a proper and convenient scale as employed for pneumatic-trackers and musicsheets in practice, While the supplementary or end series I have preferably made ten to the inch; but I do not confine my invention to the exact dimension of scales here named, since the scales can in various instances be made somewhat larger or smaller without departing from the nature of this invention.

I indicates the pipes or windway-passages from the tracker-ducts to the respective primary pneumatics D, that control the noteplaying actions, those in the supplmentary series being provided with a means for shutting off and opening the passages. Said means, as here shown, consists of a valve or gate J, having cross-channels 6 and arranged to slide on a valve-seat H, into which t-he pipes or tracker-ducts lead, as indicated at I', and from which at adjacently-corresponding points pipes or ducts lead, as at I2, to the corresponding primary pneumatics. The cut-01T valve may be disposed at any convenient position between the tracker-duct mouth and the primary pneumatic. In the present instance it is shown as arranged on the frame B. By sliding back the valve J the solid part of the valve is brought over the ducts in the valveseat and the cross-channels 6 over the solid part of the valve-seat, thus osetting the passages and shutting o the supplementary series S from effective operation. If desired, any other suitable form ot' valve devices may be employed for effecting the opening and closing of the ducts of the supplementary series for a corresponding result. The supplementary series of ducts at the right and left hand ends of the tracker can have separate shutting-off valves J for each series or all may be controlled by a single valve, if preferred, the several pipes or conduits being extended to the same valve-seat.

The ducts or pipes I of the main series R, with the exception of a few at the ends of the series, are, as usual, carried direct to their primary pneumatics. With those ducts indicated at O (see Fig. 4) I arrange a suitable shutting-ol valve J. The portions of the pipes or conduits I3 lead from the tracker to the valve-seat H', and the portions I4 eX- tend from said seat tothe primary pneumatics. By this means the regular or main series can be reduced in its range and effect from sixtyve to a fifty-eight note range, as indicated at T, without other change than the mere adjustment of the valve J. It will thus be seen that an instrument embodying my improvements can operate with equal facility with dilerent widths of music-sheet-as, for instance, With a fifty-eight-note sheet when valves J J are closed, a sixty-five-note sheet when valve J is closed and J open, or an eighty-ive-note sheet M, having the perforations 13 and l5, when both cut-0E valves are open.

A music-sheet such as last named is shown in Fig. 5 to illustrate the corresponding relation of the note-perforations and the trackerduct orifices; but a music-sheet of such character forms the subject-matter of claims embraced in a separate application for Letters Patent. This music-sheet M consists of a paper sheet or strip, the central portion R2 of which has its perforations 13 arranged on a normal uniformly-spaced scale to correspond with the scale of the main series R of the tracker-ducts and provided with a marginal ICO IIO

portion or portions S2, With perforations l5, formed on a narrower ormore contracted scale and with smaller openings la'terally to correspond with the supplementary series of openings in the tracker. The perforations for single short notes of the supplementary series can be formed circular or as oblong holes 5l of narrow Width, but havinga length equal to the diameter of the single-hole perforation I3 of the central scale. The openings for long notes may be a long slot or series of adjacent holes, as at 25, the crossbridges being of less dimension than the tracker-orifices, so that they will not cut oft,

the air from said orifices until the entire note has passed over the same.

In this specification for convenience of description I have considered as the range of the tracker and music-sheets the fifty-eight notes, sixty-tive notes, and eighty-five notes; but I do not confine my invention to these exact numbers of notes, since the number of notes in either case can be more or less without change in the nature of the invention.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. A tracker for pneumatic music-playing instruments, having Within its range a main series of ducts or orifices arranged on a normal uniformly-spaced scale; in combination with a supplementary series of ducts or oritices arranged on a narrower scale, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A tracker for pneumatic music-playing instruments, comprising Within its range a central series of ducts or orifices formed on a normal uniformly-spaced scale, and a supplementary end series of ducts or oritices formed on a narrower-spaced scale; in combination with primary pneumatics, passages leading from said tracker orifices to said pneumatics, and means for shutting off the passages from said supplementary series of tracker-ducts independently of the main or central series of ducts, for the purpose set forth.

3. In a pneumatic music-playing instrument, a tracker having in its mouthpiece an intermediary series of normally sized ductorifices arranged on a regularly-spaced scale, and at the ends thereof supplementary series of duct-orifices arranged in a narrower scale, the openings thereof being of less Width and of greater length than those of the main or intermediary series, and means for shutting off and opening the ducts of said supplementary series, for the purpose set forth.

4. vIn combination With the pneumatic-actions and primary pneumatics pertaining to the noteplaying scale; a tracker provided With a main series of orifices arranged in regular uniformly-spaced scale With conduits or pipes leading therefrom to their respective primary pneumatics, and supplementary series of tracker-ducts with orifices respectively arranged at the bass end and treble end of the tracker, a valve-seat disposed upon the casing or tracker-supporting board and including the conduits or pipes leading from said supplementary series of orifices, and conduits or pipes leading to their note-controlling primary pneumatics, a sliding valve having cross-passways in its face arranged upon said valve-seat, and means for moving said valve for varying the range of note-actions, for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination, with the pneumaticactions and a tracker, representing a maXi-v mum number of notes in the music-playing scale, said tracker having its orifices and the ducts or conduits connected with their respective note-controlling primary pneumatics arranged as a main, a supplementary and an intermediate series; a valve seat and valve-slide including in its control the noteconduits I and I2 of the supplementary series, between the tracker and note-controlling primary pneumatics, a second valve-seat and valve slide including in its' control a number of note-conduits I3 and I4 as an intermediate series at the end of the main series, and main-series note-conduits I, that are directly connected With their primary pneumatics, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

Witness my hand this 7th day of November, 1902. y

CHARLES L. DAVIS.

Witnesses:

FRANK C. WHITE, J. H. WHITE. 

